Countdown by Fern Michaels

sheaf of papers across the table. “It must take many hours a day to shuffle all that money here, there, and yonder. I guess that’s why you don’t have time to requisition the repairs the tenants requested out there in Southeast. So what if a few people don’t have heat, so what if they don’t have hot water, so what if they can’t flush, so what if the electric doesn’t work. A busy man like you needs to tend to his finances. And I’m here to tell one and all that your finances are robust. Ooops, were robust. Were is the operative word here.”
    Abner slid a second sheaf of papers across the table. “Take a look at the bottom line, Mr. Marks. Zero, straight across the board.”
    Lionel Marks could feel Cyrus’s hot breath on his ankles. He’d never been so cold in his life. And yet he was sweating like a pig. He needed to get himself together. When he saw the zero balances, he forgot about the monster dog and how cold he was, and bellowed his outrage. “You fucking stole my money! Who the hell are you people?” He was on his feet, his face red with rage.
    Cyrus reared up and backed away a step as his lips peeled back, showing a magnificent set of teeth. His growl sounded deadly. Marks paid no attention as he continued to rant and rave. “You bastard, you lied to me! You came to my office and pretended to want my help! And now you tell me you just stole all my money. You just wait till I get out of here! I know important people in high places. Unlock that goddamn door and let me out of here right now !”
    Jack sighed. “That isn’t going to happen anytime soon, Mr. Marks.”
    Cyrus hated to be ignored. He looked at his master, who shrugged. It was all Cyrus needed. He lived for moments like this, when he could sink his teeth into something substantial. He lunged, his teeth clamping down six inches below Marks’s belt.
    “Ooooh.” Maggie grimaced. “I bet that hurts! Oooooh.”
    Marks’s eyes rolled back in his head. He had a death grip on the arms of the chair he was now sitting on. The room went quiet.
    Jack looked down at Cyrus, and said, “Okay, let him go. You didn’t break the skin, did you?” Cyrus just looked at his master as much as to say, I know the rules. The next time is when I get to go full bore. If there is a next time. Jack gave him a treat.
    Jack fixed his stare on Lionel Marks, and said, “The next time, he’ll chew them off. Just so you know. Now, we want to ask you some questions. Oh, by the way, you will not be going to Hong Kong. Nor will you be spending the holidays with your family. You’re going to be spending them with your favorite client and his wife. Now, to the questions.”
    “I’m not telling you anything. It’s client privilege. That was part of the deal. This is kidnapping. You can go to jail for this, and I’m calling the FBI as soon as I leave here,” Marks blustered.
    Jack sighed. “Obviously, you haven’t been listening. You aren’t leaving here. Well, that’s not quite true; you are leaving but not for home. You won’t be making any calls to anyone. I guess you forgot about Cyrus here. Yes, we are kidnapping you. That part is true. The other true part is we are stealing your money. Ooops, correction. We already stole your money.
    “Let’s get on with it. I don’t want to hear about any client privilege bullshit either. What did Sandford tell you when he signed on with you? Ah, you thought we didn’t know. Get it through your thick skull, we know everything. We just want to confirm what we already know. What kind of deal did you have with him and his wife? I won’t ask you again. What kind of deal did you have with Sandford and his wife?”
    Marks looked around at the faces staring at him. He thought they looked evil, especially the Chinese guy. “If I tell you, will you let me go?”
    The one-word reply was an explosion of sound. “No.”
    “Then go to hell, Mr. Whatever-the-hell-your-name-is.”
    Jack didn’t respond. He just pointed to